Owen Good

As mentioned back in December, the audio guides used by the Louvre, one of the most famous museums in the world, were to be replaced this spring by the Nintendo 3DS, using content programmed by Nintendo. This promotional video shows the device in action.

I may be missing the point, but beyond the narration explaining the the work of art in front of you and its history—something the audio guides were, presumably, doing—I don't see the special advantage that the 3DS gives. I mean, it is nice to see Winged Victory of Samothrace in a fully rotating three-dimensional view on the 3DS. You can also see it in a fully rotating 3D view by, like, walking around its pedestal and looking at it.

It does allow the patron to zoom in on certain features of a painting but it's not like that's a high-definition screen. There seems to be a "compare" feature in which you can examine two pieces together, but it doesn't really go into great detail.

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Nice touch and certainly more interactive than an audio guide, but it seems a little like product placement inside a museum more than a new way to tour one. Nintendo created all of the content, but the Louvre had final editorial approval.